


Summer Omens prompt fics

by MerenwenNolat



Category: Good Omens (TV)
Genre: Adam has a minor existential crisis, Beach Holidays, Beaches, Bournemouth, Earthbending & Earthbenders, Gen, I think it's clear enough if you haven't seen the show but it will make more sense if you have, Kids talking a bunch about Avatar:The Last Airbender, Philosophy, Prompt Fic, Sandbending, Summer Omens 2020, The Them - Freeform, Waterbending & Waterbenders, no beta we saunter vaguely downwards
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:42:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25276348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MerenwenNolat/pseuds/MerenwenNolat
Summary: A belated start working through of the Summer Omens 2020 prompts.(Tags to be added for each chapter. Rating may change later?)
Kudos: 4





	Summer Omens prompt fics

**Author's Note:**

> This was really just a response to me imagining Adam watching Avatar: The Last Airbender and being super impressed with the bending, and then plot got in the way. 
> 
> Totally unbeta'ed. Expect future prompts to be much more succinct. 
> 
> Once again, TheFallenCaryatid is the best cheerleader ever. This is for you.

It was the first summer that Tadfield had experienced less-than-perfect weather, and for Adam Young's twelfth birthday his parents took him (along with Brian, Pepper, and Wensleydale[1]) for a two week holiday in Bournemouth. The beaches found themselves far less crowded than was usual for the summer months, and the Them spent their first few days exploring the pier and searching for buried pirate treasure.

On the third day, the Youngs left Bournemouth proper and moved to a rented cottage at Fisherman's Walk Beach[2], where Adam, Pepper, Wensleydale and Brian stayed up several nights in a row watching DVDs they had discovered hiding under the television set. The seventh day saw the Them roaming along the beach half asleep, loudly arguing about the show they had finally finished the night before.

"But actually there are more than four elements," said Wensleydale[3], who had in hand his sensible shoes with his sensible socks folded neatly inside[4]. "So why aren't there benders for other things? Like at the power station back home. So actually where are the nuclear benders?"

"Look," said Adam with rather more patience than might be expected of a twelve year old, "it's because all the, you know, the periodic table, they still get divided up. So all the gasses are for airbenders, and the liquids for waterbenders, and if you mine it it's for earthbenders, and if it's on fire it's for firebenders. So maybe nuclear benders are earthbenders. Or firebenders? Are things at the power station on fire?"

"My mum says that nuclear power is run with a blatant disregard for worker safety and is an example of the prioritisation of profit over people," Pepper said[5], "but she didn't say anything about fire, and when we went on that school trip it never smelled like burning, so probably I don't think there's fire there."

"Nah, firebenders would use those, wotsits, the metals that burn funny colours." Brian, who had not worn shoes since they left Tadfield, absentmindedly scratched at one foot with the other. "I bet they'd be in movies a lot. To make special effects."

Pepper spotted a man selling ice cream, and the discussion was forgotten as they all pondered the very important decision of which flavour to buy[6]. Cones and scoops in hand the Them set off again, wandering across the sand and stopping at the edge of the water.

"You know, Adam," said Brian slowly[7], "you're a bit like….well, a bit like Aang, aren't you?"

The Them didn't often talk about the events surrounded Adam's eleventh birthday and the days thereafter[8]. Pepper and Wensleydale looked at Adam. Adam looked out over the sea.

"Actually, that makes sense," said Wensleydale hesitantly, "because, I mean, he can do all those different things, and he's _also_ twelve." 

Pepper and Brian both nodded. Adam said nothing.

"And sometimes…" Wensleydale trailed off for a moment, before continuing timidly, "sometimes he scared his friends, but he actually didn't really hurt them, did he?"

Adam looked pained. "Except when he burnt Katara."

"But he didn't do it again," Pepper said in a determined sort of voice. "And he said sorry, and she was okay, and they were all fine."

They all stood in silence.

"I don't think I want to talk about this anymore," Adam said in a small voice. Pepper reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, but didn't say anything. Brian and Wensleydale shuffled closer.

They all watched the water lap gently at their feet for what seemed like hours[9] before Pepper snorted unexpectedly.

"Does that mean that Dog is Appa, or Momo?"

Their debate on that topic lasted for the entire walk back to the cottage.

~~~~~

The Them were asleep before nine, curled up in yellow sleeping bags laid out in the front parlor. Brian's snores carried down the hall, and Diedre and Arthur smiled gently at each other before they closed their bedroom door and turned out the lights. 

Pepper woke up when something brushed her sleeping bag. "It's just me, Pepper, you can go back to sleep," Adam murmured as he moved to sit in the window seat. Pepper yawned and sat up, shuffling on her knees to join him as he nudged the curtains open and looked out at a view of the water. 

"What's wrong Adam? You know it's okay for boys to talk about feelings, don't you?"

"I know, I promise. I think… I mean, I normally don't think about it, but it's my birthday again and…I think maybe I thought that those people might come back, and everything would go wrong again." Adam shrugged. "And then we were almost talking about it today. And I thought about how I don't want to be bad again."

Pepper pouted in thought. "Did you talk to your godparents about it?[10]"

"Yeah, and they said it's probably fine. Their bosses are still scared of them, and they think I'll get left alone entirely anyway." Adam shrugged. "It's more about me, really. I don't like how I was. You know. When I wasn't me."

"But you know better now. You won't get like that again."

"Maybe. I think sometimes I do stuff without thinking though. Like the lottery. And that time we found those books.[11]" 

"That didn't hurt anyone but," said Pepper.

"No, but I could."

There was a shifting noise, and Adam and Pepper turned to see Brian and Wensleydale both sitting up in their sleeping bags. Wensleydale rubbed his eyes. "Actually Adam I don't think you could," he yawned before squinting at the pair by the window. "But also if you were actually really worried about it, maybe you could try and control it."

"But I do try to control it. I mean, I didn't bring Dog because he wouldn't be allowed on the beach, and I didn't even try to change that."

"No, I mean you could actually use it on purpose sometimes. And then you wouldn't do it not on purpose." Wensleydale fumbled for his glasses and placed them carefully on his face. 

"So what, just keep magicking up books?"

"Nah," said Brian, laying back down with elbows out and interlacing his fingers behind his head, "I reckon that'd be boring after a bit. You should do something fun."

Wensleydale looked scandalised. "But books _are_ fun-"

"Shh!" Pepper interrupted before Wensleydale and Brian could really start to argue. "Quiet! What if we're too noisy and we're not allowed out tomorrow?"

"I think we should all go back to sleep now," said Adam, after glancing once more out the window. "We can talk more in the morning." He pointedly crawled back over to his sleeping bag and wiggled inside, sliding down until only his hair was visible. Brian shrugged and closed his eyes, quickly snoring again. Wensleydale stared at Adam before laying down himself, falling asleep with his glasses on. Pepper sighed, muttering "boys" under her breath as she curled up on the window seat and pulled a pillow under her head.

~~~~~

The next morning the Them went swimming. "See, this is where it'd be neat to be an airbender." Brian shook his head, sand falling from his hair as they walked back to the cottage for lunch. "Just one bit of air and poof! All dry. No towels needed. Very handy."

"But if you were a waterbender you could actually do the same thing," Wensleydale shivered as a breeze picked up, "And you might even be warmer because there'd be no wind."

"I reckon that's true."

"When you think about it," Adam mused, "those sandbenders, they could do it too. So maybe only the firebenders would be stuck."

"The firebenders could always just set stuff on fire to get warm," said Pepper.

"But then you'd actually still be wet."

"Not if you stood close enough to the fire." Pepper stuck her tongue out at Wensleydale and grinned.

~~~~~

Lunch was ham sandwiches and salad, and a hard-boiled egg each. Afterwards the Them trooped back down to the beach.

"Hey Adam, I have a question."

Adam paused in the middle of a long meandering story about Dog's latest run in with Mr Tyler. "What, about widdling on someone's shoes?"

Brian shook his head. "No, about last night."

Adam stopped smiling. He sighed, and plopped down to sit cross legged in the sand. "I guess we can't just forget it?"

"'Fraid not," said Pepper, and sat down too. Brian flopped down onto his side, and Wensleydale folded his legs and sat like Adam[12].

"We're actually trying to help, Adam."

"Yeah, I know."

"Adam, you always have the best games, but I reckon you're not really thinking straight here." Brian stuck his finger into the sand and started drawing random shapes. "If you practice doing small things, then you won't accidently do big things. Like the avatar. It's wotsit. Discipline."

"You know I'm not actually Aang though."

"Well why not?" Wensleydale pushed his glasses up his nose. "I mean, actually just the small things. Like moving water a bit maybe. My dad says that small actions can have big impact every time he sorts the recycling."

"That would be really cool Adam." Pepper got to her feet and swayed from side to side, her arms moving fluidly. "You could drink water without touching the glass! And without a straw even."

"You could build a stone tent next time we go camping."

"Actually that would be amazing."

"You could...you could dry off after swimming."

"I'd have to be careful," Adam said thoughtfully, looking at Pepper, "'cause I expect that it'd take practice to just blow water away without maybe blowing a person away."

"You could practice on something." Brian immediately sat up and started to struggle out of his shirt. "Here, get this wet."

Adam looked uneasily at Brian's grimy shirt. "But what if I mess up?"

"It's just a shirt. If you mess up you can get me an ice cream."

~~~~~

Five minutes later, the Them stood in a semicircle. Brian's shirt lay on a patch of wet sand before them, completely dry.

"Okay, so now try and lift the water up. Like a bubble."

Adam closed his eyes for a moment, considering. When he opened them again, a bubble of water floated above the shirt.

"It actually looks like those videos in space," said Wensleydale, crouching down and reaching out. Just before he poked the bubble it popped, water splashing down.

"Sorry!"

Wensleydale wiped his glasses on his shirt. "It's okay Adam. I actually should have maybe asked before touching."

Pepper nodded. Adam looked pained. "I just…"

"Adam, we _know_. It's fine." Pepper nudged him. "Now do it again."

Adam closed his eyes.

~~~~~

"I reckon you should add the arm movements. Make it look cooler." Brian pulled his shirt back on.

"That would actually look very cool."

"And it might even help you Adam, 'cause if you only do it with hand motions you won't do it by accident."

"That's true."

~~~~~

By the end of the holiday, Adam felt far more comfortable. He had refused to do any big bending, just in case he couldn't control it, but he'd made some pebbles slide along the sand and dropped water over Brian's head and no one had gotten hurt.

"But I don't want to do it all the time."

"I think that's probably smart. I mean, what if you forgot how to use a towel? You'd look very silly." The Them were eating fish and chips, and seagulls were flocking around their table. Wensleydale ignored them, while Brian stared one bird in the eye as he popped a chip in his mouth.

"Probably it's a thing you should do when you're worried." Pepper did not taunt the seagulls, but she did kick out at the few that came too close. "And then the rest of the time just do things the normal way."

"I still reckon you should make a rock tent sometime." Brian's eyes narrowed. "Or an igloo."

"Like at Christmas?"

"Dog can be the vicious polar bear that comes to eat us, and we'll capture him and train him and he can pull our sled. And we'll go exploring and look for aliens. That's where the Northern Lights come from you know. Their spaceships," Adam licked salt from his fingers and scrunched up the empty chip paper. "Anathema's magazines said so."

"But are they actually friendly aliens?"

"Course they are. They come in peace and all that. Probably they'll help us fight off any vikings that try to come and plunder Tadfield." Adam led the others to the bin, before they headed back down the path to the beach. The seagulls hopped along hopefully after them, and were rewarded when Brian dropped several broken chips for them.

~~~~~

It was their last night. After breakfast they would all drive back to Tadfield.

"Wake up!"

Groaning, Pepper rolled over. "What's wrong Adam? I'm tired." Wensleydale sat up, and Brian stopped snoring. 

"Nothing's wrong, promise." Adam's face was full of human mischief, and he was wearing his jacket. "C'mon, I've been working on something, you're all going to really like it."

Grumbling, the three children followed Adam to the door and pulled their jackets on. They left the front door unlocked[13] and walked quietly down the path to the sand. 

"Actually Adam, I'm really sleepy, so is it much farther?"

"Nah, we're almost there."

Adam led them to a patch of sand shielded from the wind by rocks. It was well above the water line, and the Them looked down at their feet, silent. Adam preened.

"I didn't get it right at first. But I can do it properly now. Look, there's even a little Mr Tyler. And there's my house, and yours, Pepper, and Brian, and the corner shop, and Wensleydale…."

Adam fell silent, less cheerful now. He scuffed his bare foot in the sand. "It is okay, isn't it?" 

Pepper finally dragged her eyes from the ground. "Adam, this is amazing. I didn't know you'd been working on moving sand."

"I wasn't sure I could get it right. And I didn't want to make quicksand by mistake, so I practiced by myself. Otherwise I might have sucked us all underground and halfway to Tibet by accident."

Brian nodded. "Quicksand is scary stuff. But this is wicked."

"It really is!" Wensleydale looked far more awake now. "Can you show us how you did it?"

"Yeah okay. Just stay still."

Adam turned away, spread and splayed his feet slightly, and raised his hands high over his head. His eyes glowed red for a moment as he dropped his arms down and bent his knees, and a puff of sand cleared to reveal a perfect map of the Tadfield Air Base in a perfect circular recess in the sand. The Them cheered and clapped, and dropped to their knees to examine the sculpture.

"Look, there's the man at the gate!"

"And our bikes, see?"

"And your godparents!"

Adam grinned. 

~~~~~

Back in their sleeping bags, the Them watched sleepily as the sky began to lighten. 

"I don't think I'll do that much. Just on holidays maybe. Or if we find a really good sand pit somewhere."

"Probably a good idea," Pepper yawned. 

"And it was fun to destroy the airbase. Was a bit like being a giant monster and stomping around," Brian mumbled, eyes drifting shut.

"Yeah."

~~~~~

Three days later, Arthur Young unfolded his newspaper. "Oh! Diedre, come and look at this, dear! It's some sort of, of, gurr-rill-ahh art stunt, our village made of sand!"

Meanwhile, R.P. Tyler was already composing an angry letter to the editor.

_To whom it may concern_

_I read with disgust today of our fine village being used in an act of public vandalism; it's beaches that made this country what it is and to see Tadfield's likeness used to blight one is surely unpatriotic…_

~~~~~

And miles away, in a Soho bookshop, an immaculately manicured hand reached for a rotary phone. "Oh, hello dear, it's me. Yes, it's just that, have you looked at an electronic newspaper this morning? Only I think young Adam fancies himself an artist, and they're really much more your wheelhouse than mine…"

~~~~~

And so all was Right in the world.

  
  
  
  
  


[1] Adam had asked very politely to have his friends along, and had kept his room clean for two whole months before his parents agreed. He did not use any occult methods of persuasion, but a surprising lottery win of £4000 did help Mr and Mrs Young decide that such good behaviour should be encouraged.  
  


[2] There may not have always been cottages with such excellent beachfront access in Bournemouth, but it was what Adam had always assumed would be by the seaside, and so that's what they found.  
  


[3] They had briefly learned about the periodic table in school a month ago, but had also learned about it from some books Adam had borrowed from the library six months earlier. Brian had been especially interested in the bits about things melting or exploding.  
  


[4] Pepper and Adam had abandoned their trainers on a grassy patch before the sand started, but Wensleydale was perpetually worried about his parents' reactions if he lost his shiny leather shoes.  
  


[5] Pepper did not yet know what all of those words meant, but she knew they were Bad.  
  


[6] There were eleven flavours to choose from. Eleven!  
  


[7] Ice cream all over his chin and dripping down his shirt.  
  


[8] Pepper, Brian, and Wensleydale remembered some of what happened, but it didn't seem possible and it made Adam uncomfortable, so they rarely discussed it with him. They had, several times, talked to each other about it, but only enough to confirm that they all remembered roughly the same things, and that Adam had been their friend when it really mattered, so it was all alright then.  
  


[9] It was seventy-three seconds.  
  


[10] Between them, Adam, Aziraphale, and Crowley had somehow convinced the Youngs that they had always been Adam's godparents; their guardianship mostly entailed occasional drives in the Bentley, deliveries of baked goods to Adam's house, and phone calls when Adam had questions about occult or ethereal matters.  
  


[11] _The British SAS Guide to Field Survival - Children's Edition!_ and _How To Build An Igloo For Beginners_ and _1001 Soups, Stews, and Brews for the British Woodbound Witch._ The Them had been attempting to camp in Hogback Wood one Saturday evening and didn't know how to erect a tent or what to eat if they were trapped due to a Viking invasion or some such. The books had been very interesting but, in the end, not especially helpful.  
  


[12] But with much better posture.  
  


[13] Adam said it would be fine, which meant, of course, that it was.


End file.
